eli is a fan of sand.

This is Tim and Jessi's last night with us, so while they are packing, I wanted to share a few pics of the babe enjoying some sand  - he LOVES it!!! I will post more later...

 

 This is one of only THREE pictures I got of him looking up at all - he was SO fascinated by the sand!  It was hilarious!

 And I've gotta post some of these because they are just sweet :)  We watched a sunset on campus tonight before we went to dinner...here are Eli and Uncle J hanging out ;)

I think this looks swell, don't you? :)

Pray for safe travels for the Viola fam as they head back tomorrow morning!  And as they stay overnight in Miami :)  It has been a JOY to have them here!!!!!

adventurs part 2.

the world according to eli.

 

first of all, this is me in uncle j's hat.  it is muhc to big on me, and uncle j and aunt e laugh at me every time i have it on, but it provides some good shade, so i am a happy camper...i don't see what all the fuss is about??

it's been quite a journey so far.  we went to uncle j's school campus.  i watched daddy go cliff jumping.  we went to the market today and aunt e and uncle j watched me while mommy and daddy took a tour of an old fort.  we went to dinner at a pretty place with fascinating lights called Dodgy Dock.  we went to see Puss in Boots so mommy and daddy could experience a Grenadian movie.  i'm trying my hardest to start crawling, but the best i can do is rock a little and then topple forward.  it's hard work being me!  but at least i'm becoming quite the world traveler.

 this is me, mommy and daddy at uncle j's campus.

 

daddy likes this picture.  i like being tossed.

 this was after uncle j and daddy jumped once...do you see me and mommy on top?? i loved the breeze...

 this is something uncle j and daddy kept calling a "ninja pose"....

 maybe i will do it someday?...

 i was reading john owen with daddy...but i got distracted by a flash...

 aunt e put me in front of the mirror while mommy was resting and i was a little fussy...i got quite excited...

 what 'chu lookin' at??

 this is mommy and daddy at Dodgy Dock for one dollar wing night.  daddy and uncle j were VERY happy!

 i think they left me somewhere on the floor while they wanted to take pictures of themselves...uncle j and daddy really wanted to start eating their wings, but mommy and aunt e wanted them to be clean for pictures...

 he really just wants to be eating...

this was their feast.  i didn't really care for it...i would rather have bananas.

 well, everybody, that about sums it up.
  please pray for me and mommy - she is very sick and has a fever, and i have been a bit fussier with a low grade fever today - pray that we get all better tonight!!!

tomorrow we are going to the pool and the beach!  hooray!

adventurs in gren-a-duh...as recounted by baby e.

so i got to this very big place after traveling on three very loud, noisy things in the air.  there were a lot of older ladies who smiled and giggled with me a lot, and i fell asleep a lot, too so it was fun overall.  we got to the place where aunt e and uncle j lived and it was dark.  i wasn't tired at all.  i rolled on a big bed while mommy talked to aunt e.  then everyone went to bed, and they put me in a big suitcase.  i don't think aunt e and uncle j know what a baby bed is...oh well.  i'm learning to like it ok.  they put a fan next to my head, so that's nice.  i'm always pretty sticky in this big place with lots of green stuff everywhere, its pretty hot.  mommy puts me in onesies all the time, and the place i was before we were in the three loud things was cold and she always put me in a lot more clothes.  i like kicking my legs a lot, so i think i like less clothes. 

last night daddy strapped me to himself and carried me to this big place with blue moving stuff that was wet.  he put my foot in it, and it was ok the first time, but then some of the blue stuff came up on me and scared me.  i didn't like it so much after that.  i wanted mommy.

today, they took me to another big place with moving blue stuff, and i was little scared at first.  but then i realized that this stuff wasn't going to come up and hit me in the face, and then i loved it!  i learned how to splash, and i hung out with my very silly uncle j.  he always makes the same face at me...i wonder if his face will stick that way?  

right now i'm eating some food with mommy and daddy and everyone is talking about crab racing tonight.  i don't know what any of those things are, so i will probably want to sleep a lot anyway.  well, that's all for now.  keep watching for my updates - i'm learning a lot about this big place. 

keep it dry!

 there i was, minding my own business, laying on my mat...

 next thing you know, daddy has me strapped and putting me in cold wet stuff!

 

 then they gave me to uncle j...are you sure he knows what he's doing??

 then daddy was eating my hand...

 then they made me STAND in the wet stuff!!!

 no, no, no i did NOT like that!

 mama!!!

 YAY! Mama :)

 this is what they keep calling a "bed"...do they think i'm stupid??

 i was a little worried about this wet stuff, but the hard stuff on the side was cool...

 mommy helped me get in the wet stuff and not be scared.

 one of my newest favorite things to do is chew on mommy's collarbone.

 daddy kept disappearing underwater, and it was a little disconcerting at first...

 but then he would come back and it was really funny!

 mommy and daddy are the best.

  then silly uncle j put a flower on my head.

 did i mention he is silly?

 he is VERY silly!

 so silly, he doesn't even know what's going on behind him...

 well, i think i like this stuff afterall.

love, baby e.

happy new year!

Well folks, it's official - this is my first post of the year 2012.  Wow, that looks weird!  And being on a tropical island with unchanging weather makes it feel even less like a new year :)  

HOWEVER, we had a GREAT end to our year, and currently a GREAT beginning with two great visits from family and friends.  Mom, Dad and Olivia flew out yesterday [can I even believe that?! It was only yesterday - it already feels so long ago!!] Their trip flew by way too fast - seriously, by Wednesday I was thinking "Oh, this has been going at a nice pace" and then all of a sudden it was Saturday and it was over.  But it was WONDERFUL having them in town - lots of reading by the resort poolside, walks on the beach, great eats, exploring SGU [and watching J jump off the cliff in "real life"! :)], getting to go to Belmont and just hang out playing games and watching some movies at home.  I told J as we were leaving the airport how different it already felt.  I really felt like we were on a family vacation for a minute, but then we were left to stay haha.  I am very grateful to have had them visit us - I can't wait to be back in the states in about 4.5 months! :):)

Jessi and Tim and Baby E flew in a few hours later, and we were back at the airport to pick them up.  It was so great to see them and how much little man has grown! It's incredible how different he is in every way - very giggly, interactive, and CHUBBY!!! YES!!! J and I LOVE having a chubster in the house ;)  He's been doing a lot of scooting/rolling over on the beds and a blanket on the floor - very content to just be in the room while everyone else does other things, cracking himself up all the while.  The men have already explored the beach and came home for lunch.  Everyone is actually napping now, but Jessi has yet to see anything, so I think we will be heading to the beach later [if they wake up before sun sets at 5:30! Haha]  In all fairness, we were all up until 2am, so I think everyone is a little pooped, plus the fact that the weather here always takes it out of you :)  

This break has been so weird [but wonderful] in so many ways - I am anxious for it to be summer and for us to be back home, so I want school to start so it can be over...but at the same time, it has been so wonderful to relax and enjoy our surroundings with the people we love and with each other.  I feel like everything is going to still feel weird after its over, but maybe school will "normalize" things again.   I guess everything has just felt very surreal since everyone left the island for Christmas, and then we got people from home to be here - do you get what I'm saying?  Maybe I should be joining everyone for a nap ;)

 

Anyway, this post was really meant to wish everyone a happy New Year, to encourage those of you who know the Lord to continue to pursue Him steadfastly, and to say that I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2012!

This verse was in my reading this morning in Daily Light - something my mom gave me for the New Year - it has already been so encouraging!  As one of those people that can get trapped in the past/what-if scenarios/comparison games, this verse is always humbling:

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

Forgetting the past is active: forgetting the good and the bad, and straining for what God has ahead of me, focusing my eyes on Christ and what He has granted me for my life - a very hard thing to do, but something that I want to grow in this year by God's grace :) 

May we press on to see Him more clearly, love Him more deeply, understand Him more fully, and yearn for the eternity He has in store for us!  

Grace and Peace.